• ACTUALITÉs

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During the 2006-2007 school years, French Secondary students from Ulluriaq School in Kangiqsualujjuaq carried out an archaeological salvage operation near their community. The goal of the project, which was supervised by archaeologist and teacher Amélie Langlais in collaboration with Avataq Cultural Institute, was to rescue the vestiges of a dwelling structure that had been significantly damaged by looters. A second goal was to evaluate the potential of the archaeological site, while giving the students the opportunity to put into practice the knowledge they acquired during their course option in archaeology.

Until recently, researchers and residents of Kangiqsualujjuaq were not aware of the existence of this site, which is located a few kilometres northwest of the community. During the excavation, we were able to retrieve some of the archaeological items looted during the summer of 2006, notably some shaped stone tools, a steatite container and some metal fragments, including one related to a hammer. The artefacts collected lead us to believe that the site’s semi-subterranean structure was occupied over several thousand years, which is to say, during the Dorset, Thule and Historic periods. Carbon sampling of some wood and animal bones the students discovered will allow us to determine the dates of occupation more accurately, as soon as laboratory analysis has been completed.